Humanities International Complete™
Overview
Humanities International Complete™ (EBSCOhost) is a comprehensive database with over 3,000 abstracts and some full text articles in subject disciplines of the Humanities, including: HIC is multidisciplinary in nature with a focus on academic, literary, and creative works. The source types range from scholarly journals, books, and book chapters, to magazines, and trade publications.
As Price (2009) would say, when thinking about Whitman, HIC is a storehouse of poetic lines” (21) where one would have only “partial access” to because of how data is organized and thought about.
Facts
- Url: ebsco.com/products/research-databases/humanities-international-complete
- Publisher: EBSCO Information Services , ebsco.com
- Primary Category: Humanities
- Secondary Categories: Government, Arts, Social Sciences
- Date Range: 1925-present
- Review Type: Discovery tool, Research Database
- Access Types: Subscription; Interlibrary Loan
History:
Humanities International Complete™ (HIC), is a product of the Whitston Publishing Company, a publisher catering to academic and public libraries. In 2003, Whitston was acquired by EBSCO Publishing, then announced HIC in 2005. HIC would not be Complete had it not merge data from the American Humanities Index, and the Humanities International Index, both creations of Whitston. For more info…
Navigation, Interface, and Search
Standard Features
Standard features of the HIC interface include: accessing search history, as well as saving, downloading, emailing, and printing sources.
For those on the go, this database is mobile friendly, with Text-to-Speech software options to read some HTML articles aloud.
Users can create a personal account within EBSCOhost, which will let them save search queries, set up email and RSS alerts.
Special Features
This database, like many EBSCOhost databases, includes a subject specific thesaurus. This feature shows one of the ways this database gives words a hierarchy, and for the user, it is a form of browsing. I particularly like using ERIC’s Thesaurus for pedagogical research. Jisc describes the functionality of a thesaurus: “The thesaurus’s hierarchical structure is intended to help find a suitable subject term at the appropriate level of detail.” (7)
Methods of searching:
Humanities International Complete™ allows both simple and advanced searching. You may conduct simple searches to retrieve information located in any part of the record that was created by the database. But for the most part, I would go for the advanced search option, as I tell my students. I’ve always prefer using the advanced search option for more than one concept construct, which allows me to enter keywords to be found in associated fields. For the sake of this exercise, I was looking for terms to appear either in the “Title” field, the “Subject ” field, or the “Abstract” field. As long as the indexing is done effectively, you potentially have more control over the logical relationship you want to establish between both sets of terms by using the advanced search.
Users can also search by Image Quick View to locate and access maps, charts, photographs, and graphs, or even PDFs.
Methods of refining:
Limiters
Users may use post search delimiters (i.e. Full Text, References Available, and Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journal.
Facets
Users may filter the results with the use of facets (i.e. Source Type, Publication Date, Subject, Publication, Geography, and NAICS/Industry)
Field Codes
EBSCOhost allows the use of two-character abbreviated field codes while conducting (simple or advanced) searches. Assigning a field code to keywords will help generate a more targeted (metadata) search based on the content of the source (i.e. citation, full text, abstract).
If you are interested in seeing the whole Humanities International Complete™ database coverage, you may check out their list: https://www.ebscohost.com/titleLists/hlh-coverage.pdf
Like most EBSCOhosgt databases, HIC makes use of a controlled list of subject headings. In describing the concept of metadata, JISC expands on the main functions of using controlled vocabulary in databases, asserting that, “Using a controlled vocabulary and/or following a pre-determined set of rules for creating the terms used in metadata elements helps cataloguers and resource managers to: enter data consistently, make searching and browsing digital collections easier and more efficient, [and] relate content in one archive or collection with that in another, providing the same of similar rules have been applied.” (Describing Metadata, 2) The controlled vocabulary provides the context that will help define the use/properties of the key term used in searches.
Access:
Users may get access if affiliated with an institution or company with a subscription package through HIC’s vendor, EBSCOhost.
Info from Publisher:
At a Glance description of HIC from the EBSCOhost website:
“Humanities International Complete is an essential resource for students, researchers and educators interested in all aspects of the humanities, with worldwide content pertaining to literary, scholarly and creative thought. Humanities International Complete is a valuable collection for libraries looking to provide comprehensive coverage of the humanities with full-text content.” https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/humanities-international-complete
Guide from the publisher:
EBSCO Databases Libguide
Other Info
Citing—Offers citation assistance in various ways: (1) exporting it (2) viewing it in specific styling formats, (3) saving it, (4) printing it, or (5) emailing it.
